With Dillon Mahmoudi (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
On Tuesday, October 15th, 2024, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Room: 2109 A-B (385, Sherbrooke East Street, Montreal, QC)
Zoom : https://INRS.zoom.us/j/6325939377
Note: The presentation will be in English. Questions may be asked in French.
Description
A 35-minute communication will be followed by a period of discussion. The Quantitative Workshops aims to create a structured and dynamic community of social science researchers in Quebec who work with quantitative methods. Students and professors are invited to participate and to submit presentation proposals.
Bio
Dillon Mahmoudi is an Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at UMBC, specializing in urban, digital, and economic geography. His research focuses on the intersections of cities, technology, political ecology, and uneven development, particularly around race, class, and environmental inequality. His current work involves combining geo-statistical methods with co-created, community-based initiatives aimed at addressing socio-environmental injustices. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech and a Ph.D. in Urban Studies from Portland State. He also directs the Just Maps GIS Masters program and is a Faculty Fellow at the Hilltop Institute.
Abstract
Citizen science plays a crucial role in filling the gaps left by the state in environmental monitoring. This study examines how low-cost sensors deployed by residents—such as air quality monitors, rain gauges, and biodiversity apps—can complement national services and research projects by providing more granular, localized data. However, participation is unevenly distributed across geographies, shaped by processes of racial capitalism, leading to a pattern of socio-ecological segregation. Higher-income, predominantly white neighborhoods are more likely to engage in these citizen science projects, while low-income and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities are underrepresented. This presentation applies a zero-inflated hurdle model to account for missing data and explore the socio-ecological disparities that emerge from uneven participation. By highlighting gaps in data representation and early warning systems, the statistical analysis, grounded in critical theory, reveals how these inequalities perpetuate environmental injustices and reinforce feedback loops that entrench uneven socio-ecological spaces. The presentation concludes by discussing the future of citizen science, with a focus on addressing inequities and preventing the entrenchment of spatial disparities in large government-based and private environmental models.